Faith needs guidance and self-understanding.
Arjuna speaks to Krishna
अर्जुन उवाच |ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः |तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः ||१७-१||
arjuna uvāca . ye śāstravidhimutsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ . teṣāṃ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvamāho rajastamaḥ ||17-1||
Use this verse to start a faith-quality assessment.
Meaning
Arjuna said: O Krishna, those who worship with faith but set aside scriptural guidance, what is their position: sattva, rajas, or tamas?
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Arjuna asks whether faith without scriptural guidance is sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Chapter 17 begins with a practical question for modern seekers. Many people have faith, rituals, habits, and beliefs, but not always scriptural clarity. Arjuna asks how to evaluate such faith through the three gunas.
Read the traditional commentary
Arjuna opens the final movement of Krishna's teaching with a precise and very human question. At the close of the previous chapter, Krishna had insisted that shastra-vidhi — the guidance of scripture — should be one's standard for action. But Arjuna notices that many people worship sincerely, with genuine shraddha (faith), yet without following any formal scriptural rule. What of them? Are they pure (sattvic), passionate (rajasic), or dark (tamasic)?
The question is generous and reveals Arjuna's spiritual maturity. He is not eager to condemn the unlettered devotee; he wants to understand where heartfelt faith stands when it lacks instruction. This single inquiry launches the whole of Chapter 17, in which Krishna will show that faith itself is coloured by the three gunas — and that sincerity, while precious, still needs to be refined by knowledge.
In daily life
Do not assume every sincere belief is automatically pure; examine its quality.
A person may follow a spiritual trend online with faith, but should check whether it is sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic.
Try this today
Write one belief or practice and ask which guna it expresses.
I examine my faith with honesty and wisdom.Reflect
Is my faith guided by wisdom or only by habit?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘सत्त्वम् आहो रजः तमः’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on inquiry, in other chapters
- Verse 12.1 · ArjunaWhen torn between a God you can love and an Absolute beyond form, ask honestly which path your heart can actually walk.
- Verse 4.4 · ArjunaSincere questioning, free of both blind acceptance and cynical dismissal, is the doorway to deeper understanding.
- Verse 14.21 · ArjunaIt is wise to ask not only what the goal is, but what its signs look like and how the road there is walked.
- Verse 7.21The Divine strengthens sincere faith wherever it is offered — bring genuine devotion, and it will be steadied from within.
Swipe left for 17.2 · Faith has a guna-quality.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 17.1
Who says Bhagavad Gita 17.1, and to whom?
Arjuna speaks to Krishna in verse 17.1, in Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga (Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 17.1 mean?
Arjuna said: O Krishna, those who worship with faith but set aside scriptural guidance, what is their position: sattva, rajas, or tamas? (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 17.1 for daily life?
Do not assume every sincere belief is automatically pure; examine its quality. A person may follow a spiritual trend online with faith, but should check whether it is sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 17.1 mean?
ये — those who; शास्त्रविधिम् — the injunctions of scripture; उत्सृज्य — setting aside, abandoning; यजन्ते — perform worship / sacrifice; श्रद्धया अन्विताः — endowed with faith.
Where does verse 17.1 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 1 of 28 in Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 17.2.